Conventionally, in a radio communication system, such as WiMedia UWB (Ultra Wide Band) based on ECMA368/369 or ZigBee (registered trademark) based on IEEE802.15.4, in order to reduce power consumption of a radio communication apparatus, an intermittent operation for intermittently transmitting or receiving a radio frame is performed. In these radio communication systems, a beacon period is determined at predetermined super frame periods. Radio communication apparatuses exchange beacon signals within the beacon period, check a mutual connection relation among the radio communication apparatuses, and intermittently repeat transmission or reception of radio frames on the basis of a certain period.
However, in the conventional radio communication system, it is difficult to define the intermittent operation for a long time and there is a limit in power consumption. The radio communication apparatuses exchange information concerning the intermittent operation on the basis of the beacon signal for checking the connection relation. The radio communication apparatuses need to perform operations synchronized with the beacon signal transmitted at predetermined periods. Therefore, when a large number of radio communication apparatuses are present in the radio communication system, it is difficult to synchronize between the radio communication apparatuses.
Therefore, as a method of causing the radio communication apparatuses to perform the intermittent operation for a long time, for example, Patent Literature 1 described below discloses a connection management method for forming a connection relation among radio communication apparatuses through exchange of beacon signals and a method in which a communication apparatus exchanges information concerning a predetermined quiescent period with a radio communication apparatus with which the communication apparatus has a connection relation and suspends an operation of the communication apparatus itself until a predetermined quiescent time elapses from a predetermined time of day.
As a method of attaining synchronization among radio communication apparatuses, Non Patent Literature 1 described below discloses a method in which radio communication apparatuses periodically and intermittently transmit IDs of the radio communication apparatuses and perform an operation for staying on standby for reception of a radio frame for a fixed time immediately after transmitting the IDs and a method in which a radio communication apparatus staying on standby for transmission of a radio frame waits for reception of an ID from a destination radio communication apparatus and, when the radio communication apparatus transmits a radio frame immediately after receiving the ID, the destination radio communication apparatus can receive the radio frame during reception standby immediately after the ID.
In Non Patent Literature 2 described below, as an example of provision of a limit for the sum of transmission times, the sum of transmission times per hour being equal to or smaller than 360 seconds is provided as a limit.